Let's talk All-Terrain Tires | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Let's talk All-Terrain Tires

I'm going to order a leveling kit for my Ranger, and with that some bigger tires. My question is what tire? I want All-Terrain tires as I have no need for a Mud Tire on the Ranger. The Ranger is mostly a DD but would be nice to do some trails with it and some towing from time to time. Looking for a aggressive looking tire that has good life, and will not break the bank.

I have narrowed it down to a few tires.

  • BF Goodrich T/A KO2
  • Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
  • Toyo Open Country A/T II
  • Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
  • Nitto Ridge Grappler
Current Tires are the Factory LT265/65/17 (30.5") Hankook Dynapro AT2
Going to a LT285/70/17 (32.8")

Appreciate the Feedback
 



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You must have a fat piggy bank if Duratracs are on your list :eek:
 






Okay lets!

I voted OTHER

I have had 3-4 sets of duratracs here not happy with them
I mean its our own fault, they are a MT tire and they wear quickly like one. They wear out faster then the old Goodyear MTR which is plenty fast

I have Toyo's on my full size trucks, AT and MT. They have been good tires, the MT wear out too fast. The AT on my F350 have been great!! Made in USA

I have been going with the Dick Cepek Extreme Country on the FJ cruiser (35) and Excursion (37), these have been the best tire I have run in many years!!
When the 35" dirtytracs (what we call them) wear out on my BII (35) I will go back to a dick cepek or Mickey T tire, they have just been awesome for the $$$.
The DC extreme Country looks and act like a MT tire but wear like an AT plus better price then the others listed.
I would seriously consider them
Nitto is good, again made in USA
BFG KO blah they hydroplane too easily cost too much

Consider the Mickey Thompson / Dick cepek tires I have been VERY happy with the last 4-5 sets

We own 5 trucks and like 5 trailers plus 4 UTV's and a bunch of quads....I am a picky tire buyer because we spend more on tires then we do on pretty much anything else, except snow tracks....but thats a whole other thread

37's for the excursion

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I've got toyo mud terrains in my explorer. Had em a year and they still look new. Never been stuck with them.
 






Wild Peak AT3's all the way. Looks, price, and performance. Ours have been from Kansas to Colorado to 4 corners to Moab and back. Not much off roading but I did enough to like them a lot. I only took them down to 16psi but at that inflation level they performed to my needs. I have free rotations and use it, so we are getting real good treadlife and wear pattern out of them.
 






Given the choices this would be my picks starting with my most desirable choice:

Nitto Ridge Grappler
Toyo Open Country A/T II
Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
BF Goodrich T/A KO2
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac

The ridge grapplers are an awesome tire, I have never ran them personally but always hear nothing but good things. Toyos have a good reputation too. I've not been a big fan of Falkens but am warming up to them, I do hear good things about them but they just don't seem to be as popular as some of the others. I'm done with BFGs, last 3 sets I bought years ago didn't last at all. I've never liked the Duratracs, tread pattern just looks weird to me and I have heard they don't have great sidewalls plus Goodyear doesn't support any off-road team/race/event anymore that I know of. All the others on your list support the off-road industry and are involved with race teams and events to constantly improve their tires.

I would also strongly consider Coopers and Dick Cepek as well. I was happy with my Coopers when I had them (STT) and they wore fairly well. I now have the Dick Cepek Trail Country EXPs and so far I like them but only have 2k miles on them since I got them in January. Mickey Thompson is also a good choice. All 3 brands I just mentioned are made by Cooper anyway
 






I'm going to make my decision this weekend, as I'm going to the off road expo this weekend, where I can see and touch all the tires in one place.

Currently I'm learning to the Falkens right now, because they check all my boxes. I would go with the Toyo's but I want a more aggressive sidewall. I know there working on AT III however.

I order my leveling collars today, so need to pick out some new shoes.;)
 






My g/f's Mom has the A/T3W on her work F-150. She has no complaints of them.

The truck was rolled, and the motor was put into another almost identical F-150. The second truck had some decent Duratracs on it, but she kept the Falkens.
 






I have heard ok things about the Falkens
My neighbor swears by his cooper STT Pro
I swear by my Dick Cepek's

Falkens made in Japan or Thailand
Most coopers we get are made in Ohio but some in China
All Dick cepeks are made by Cooper in the USA

I think you will like the USA made tires more then the others...I have found they balance better and last ALOT longer

Plus you can drive around chanting "USA USA USA" if you wish


Dick cepek tires where are they made - Google Search
 






Steve, tires for the Ranger are more for the look and road manners, correct? I mean, you have two other 4x4's to beat on and this is the pretty one..

I had a set of Cooper A/T's on my Silverado that looked good and had very good highway manners. We had Falken performance tires on the wife's car and they handled great, but wore out quickly, about half of the warranty length. Sarah has a set of Hankook A/T's on her Ranger right now. They are good tires, but wearing uneven.
 






So based on what I saw at the off road show, price, looks, wear. I'm going to go with the Falkens.

One big factor was finding a C load. I don't need a E load on a Ranger. Nor do I want to get beat to hell, back and forth to work.
 












is that the Falken wildpeak? at? Hard to see in the pic.
We need more pics!

Lets see how those hold up, looking forward to feedback/review
 






The Grabber AT2's are a good all-terrain tire also. They have a very deep tread, and road noise is minimal. This General tire grips well in the mud, dirt and slick rocks.
 












cool truck! I love the color. Wish they left the yellow reflector off the fender flare.... should be in the headlight like the old ones
 






Those look great! The new Rangers are definitely growing on. Keep us posted on how you like Falken's. Their on my list as potentials for my Ex. I'm looking for a balance between road manners and off-road capability
 






You will be VERY happy with the Falkens. I am running them on my 08 Exp 4.6 (265/65/18 on Ford Flex 18” wheels) Excellent wet road traction and braking, excellent in snow so far, not much road noise, no decrease in fuel economy. All around I am VERY pleased with them after almost 10k miles.
 



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cool truck! I love the color. Wish they left the yellow reflector off the fender flare.... should be in the headlight like the old ones
a light smoke tint on reflector may solve that, and it still shines
 






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